Genna was a fine place to live, if not for the location. It was just along the borders of the ashes where the Uiht, or dark elves, resided. You could even see one of their towers towering over the sea like a pillar growing from the ground. White ash mixed with the snow that blanketed over the ground. There were four buildings in Genna itself. First there was Ingrin’s forge, a one story building with two windows on the front, the floor inside covered with snow.
Then there was the shack where Luieku and her husband lived. Then, the largest building in the hamlet, the home of Titus Afer and his grandchildren. It was a two story log framed house with a slanted tiled roof. The walls were made from boards stacked on top of one another.
Titus had two grandchildren, Tsuuiek and Finutsun. Finutsun was a tall sixteen year old man with hair as dark as the bark of an oak tree. “ Well, watch what you trade, don’t stay out too long.”
“ Grandfather, I know the procedures. You need not remind me.”
Finutsun’s objective was simple, go to the great city of Taajic and purchase some copies of some books. As he left the tundra, he looked back. Then he turned his head fore and hurried his white horse along. Then he heard his grandfather shout, “ Oh Finu, watch out for that tower.”
The tower he referred to was the tower on Onei’s island. Years earlier, the second Canduian king of the land Naakaea, Onei, went to that marsh island, erected a tower, called Ne’ao, their equivalence to the devil, and killed him, taking his head and mounting it over the entrance to the cathedral of their god, Annakkuu. As he trudged along, he caught a glimpse of the ancient tower. Its roof was heavily damaged, the tower was slightly at an angle. There was a deep mist that hung over the area. Candles dotted the island. It appeared as a scene from a horror story. Finu turned his head to not face the haunted tower as it was said to be bad luck to view it. The fourth king, Tajjicen I, was haunted by the spirit of the second king, whose name was never mentioned by any Naakaean. The spirit crept into the kings dreams and transformed them into grotesque, horrific nightmares. Accompanied by one of his legionnaires, he rowed to the island and supposedly, after making minor repairs to the tower, left the spirit on the island.
Finu hurried his horse along. His grandfather would become concerned if he was out too long. As he came to the plains in which Taajic resided, he caught a glimpse of the necromancers beacon. There were several beacons that dotted the land of Naakaea. Mages and adventurers would visit them to gain power, or good fortune. But Finutsun was not looking for power, or fortune. Even so, he took in the scene. The beacon sat atop a hill, overlooking a shallow lake and a stone spire. No, not a stone spire, Finu knew what they really were. Before the time of the first king, a great earthquake shook the land of Naakaea. Not many buildings survived. What did survive were nothing more than some ruins, a few barrows and the beacons. No one knew where the beacons came from, or who erected them. Speculation persisted telling that they were built by ancient mages, or placed there when the forefathers of Annakkuu reigned over the world. Now, they sat as reminders of a time long forgotten.
Finu yanked his reins back and his horse reared back in surprise. They almost fell into Ne’ao’s entrance. This was how the corrupt dragon entered Naakaea during the time of Onei. Finu used this as a landmark telling him that he was almost to the city. He was at least an acre away. He hurried the horse to the gate. They stood at the tall entrance to the city. There was a trapdoor design bridge leading through the tunnel into the city. Big enough for a man to go though, but not a horse. But Finu knew there was another entrance off to the left a ways along the wall. He dismounted, opened the two doors and entered the city. The city was a haven for merchants, and he knew that where there were merchants, there were also thieves. He tied a rope he found on the ground, slid it through a hole in the door and tied it to the horses bridle. Then he shut the door and made his way through the streets. There was a merchants tent in front of the hospital along the wall. The wall the hospital was connected to was shaped like an eagles head with three entrances along it. There was a morticians office next door to the hospital and a small residential district on the other side with nine residential two-story sections, two of which no one lived in and had empty windows creating a draft in them. An entrance to the sewers was right next to this district.
As the merchants tried to get his attention, Finu paid no mind as he went through the streets to the library. The city was under control of the tribal Calemdorians with their brown and black flying over the city. The library was a hill with the elder tree, the oldest tree in Taajic, on top of it. The texts were in three rooms descending into the ground. Finu descended into the first floor, picked out three books, brought them up and paid fifteen nihks, the Tajjician currency. As he left, he thought of something. He had heard about the book of ueakh, a short chronicle of sightings of ghosts and demons. He knew where to get a copy of the text, the Quintius hall. And he also knew the password. As he approached the hall, he heard an argument underway. He hugged against the well and watched and listened. There was a Calemdorian and a Canduian. The Canduians were a race of very highly developed wolves, almost to the point of being human. “ You’d better have all the gold by the end of this week, or it’ll be your head over my fireplace!”
“ I tell you, I’m a fisherman, not a treasurer! Money is not as easy to come by!”
“ Then find another job!”
As he said it, the Calemdorian shoved him almost into the well. Finu looked and went to the Canduians aid. “ That man was giving you trouble?”
“ Yes, I lost to him in a game of dice and he won’t let me be. He’ll have my head if I don’t pay him.”
“ Why not seek shelter among the Weicfu?”
“ Ha, you think bringing the authorities in this would help?”
The Weicfu was the political company that ruled Candu with an iron, yet gentle fist. Their minister was the elder Nume, the father of ten men, five of which he reared during his elder years. It was customary for Canduians to continue reproducing far into their elder years.
“ No, its my debt, and I have to pay.”
“ Very well.”
With that, finu decided that after that, it would be too risky to purchase a copy of an illegal book. He exited the city, mounted his horse and made for Genna. As he clopped along, he looked up and saw a dragon flying overhead. These creatures were treasured by the Tajjicians as it was the form their deity Annakkuu was in. However, since the current power holders, the berserkers of Calemdor, hated the dragons and hunted them, ownership of dragons was banned, which caused uproar. He marveled at the creature as he rode along until it flew into the clouds. At that point, he looked forward and saw the tundra in which Genna rested. As he came into view, Titus ran, or rather speed walked, to him. “ You have the books?”
“ Right here.”
“ Ah, good.”
Finu handed the three books to his grandfather, dismounted and the two went inside their two story house.
Then there was the shack where Luieku and her husband lived. Then, the largest building in the hamlet, the home of Titus Afer and his grandchildren. It was a two story log framed house with a slanted tiled roof. The walls were made from boards stacked on top of one another.
Titus had two grandchildren, Tsuuiek and Finutsun. Finutsun was a tall sixteen year old man with hair as dark as the bark of an oak tree. “ Well, watch what you trade, don’t stay out too long.”
“ Grandfather, I know the procedures. You need not remind me.”
Finutsun’s objective was simple, go to the great city of Taajic and purchase some copies of some books. As he left the tundra, he looked back. Then he turned his head fore and hurried his white horse along. Then he heard his grandfather shout, “ Oh Finu, watch out for that tower.”
The tower he referred to was the tower on Onei’s island. Years earlier, the second Canduian king of the land Naakaea, Onei, went to that marsh island, erected a tower, called Ne’ao, their equivalence to the devil, and killed him, taking his head and mounting it over the entrance to the cathedral of their god, Annakkuu. As he trudged along, he caught a glimpse of the ancient tower. Its roof was heavily damaged, the tower was slightly at an angle. There was a deep mist that hung over the area. Candles dotted the island. It appeared as a scene from a horror story. Finu turned his head to not face the haunted tower as it was said to be bad luck to view it. The fourth king, Tajjicen I, was haunted by the spirit of the second king, whose name was never mentioned by any Naakaean. The spirit crept into the kings dreams and transformed them into grotesque, horrific nightmares. Accompanied by one of his legionnaires, he rowed to the island and supposedly, after making minor repairs to the tower, left the spirit on the island.
Finu hurried his horse along. His grandfather would become concerned if he was out too long. As he came to the plains in which Taajic resided, he caught a glimpse of the necromancers beacon. There were several beacons that dotted the land of Naakaea. Mages and adventurers would visit them to gain power, or good fortune. But Finutsun was not looking for power, or fortune. Even so, he took in the scene. The beacon sat atop a hill, overlooking a shallow lake and a stone spire. No, not a stone spire, Finu knew what they really were. Before the time of the first king, a great earthquake shook the land of Naakaea. Not many buildings survived. What did survive were nothing more than some ruins, a few barrows and the beacons. No one knew where the beacons came from, or who erected them. Speculation persisted telling that they were built by ancient mages, or placed there when the forefathers of Annakkuu reigned over the world. Now, they sat as reminders of a time long forgotten.
Finu yanked his reins back and his horse reared back in surprise. They almost fell into Ne’ao’s entrance. This was how the corrupt dragon entered Naakaea during the time of Onei. Finu used this as a landmark telling him that he was almost to the city. He was at least an acre away. He hurried the horse to the gate. They stood at the tall entrance to the city. There was a trapdoor design bridge leading through the tunnel into the city. Big enough for a man to go though, but not a horse. But Finu knew there was another entrance off to the left a ways along the wall. He dismounted, opened the two doors and entered the city. The city was a haven for merchants, and he knew that where there were merchants, there were also thieves. He tied a rope he found on the ground, slid it through a hole in the door and tied it to the horses bridle. Then he shut the door and made his way through the streets. There was a merchants tent in front of the hospital along the wall. The wall the hospital was connected to was shaped like an eagles head with three entrances along it. There was a morticians office next door to the hospital and a small residential district on the other side with nine residential two-story sections, two of which no one lived in and had empty windows creating a draft in them. An entrance to the sewers was right next to this district.
As the merchants tried to get his attention, Finu paid no mind as he went through the streets to the library. The city was under control of the tribal Calemdorians with their brown and black flying over the city. The library was a hill with the elder tree, the oldest tree in Taajic, on top of it. The texts were in three rooms descending into the ground. Finu descended into the first floor, picked out three books, brought them up and paid fifteen nihks, the Tajjician currency. As he left, he thought of something. He had heard about the book of ueakh, a short chronicle of sightings of ghosts and demons. He knew where to get a copy of the text, the Quintius hall. And he also knew the password. As he approached the hall, he heard an argument underway. He hugged against the well and watched and listened. There was a Calemdorian and a Canduian. The Canduians were a race of very highly developed wolves, almost to the point of being human. “ You’d better have all the gold by the end of this week, or it’ll be your head over my fireplace!”
“ I tell you, I’m a fisherman, not a treasurer! Money is not as easy to come by!”
“ Then find another job!”
As he said it, the Calemdorian shoved him almost into the well. Finu looked and went to the Canduians aid. “ That man was giving you trouble?”
“ Yes, I lost to him in a game of dice and he won’t let me be. He’ll have my head if I don’t pay him.”
“ Why not seek shelter among the Weicfu?”
“ Ha, you think bringing the authorities in this would help?”
The Weicfu was the political company that ruled Candu with an iron, yet gentle fist. Their minister was the elder Nume, the father of ten men, five of which he reared during his elder years. It was customary for Canduians to continue reproducing far into their elder years.
“ No, its my debt, and I have to pay.”
“ Very well.”
With that, finu decided that after that, it would be too risky to purchase a copy of an illegal book. He exited the city, mounted his horse and made for Genna. As he clopped along, he looked up and saw a dragon flying overhead. These creatures were treasured by the Tajjicians as it was the form their deity Annakkuu was in. However, since the current power holders, the berserkers of Calemdor, hated the dragons and hunted them, ownership of dragons was banned, which caused uproar. He marveled at the creature as he rode along until it flew into the clouds. At that point, he looked forward and saw the tundra in which Genna rested. As he came into view, Titus ran, or rather speed walked, to him. “ You have the books?”
“ Right here.”
“ Ah, good.”
Finu handed the three books to his grandfather, dismounted and the two went inside their two story house.
